Surge in non-nationals buying first home here

ALMOST one in 20 first-time buyer houses are being snapped up by Africans, according to figures to be published later this month.

The figures, from the Irish Mortgage Corporation, show that while many Irish-born first-time buyers have been sitting on the property fence this year, the number of properties being bought by non-nationals has surged.

Overall, non-nationals are snapping up one in four first-time buyer houses, compared to about one in 10 three years ago.

Asian first-time buyers have the biggest taste for Irish property. About one in 14 first-time buyer houses are snapped up by Asians, with most of these coming from India, the Philippines, Pakistan and China.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/surge-in-nonnationals-buying-first-home-here-1457456.html